Sitting beside his grandfather, Ernie Harvell, they absorbed every game possible. But it always came back to Texas A&M playing Texas. In a family of Aggies, this was the biggest day.

“Watching those games as a kid, playing those games on Saturday, it’s a big deal to me,” Harvell-Peel said. “That's kind of where I honed in on football, sitting and watching games with my grandfather.”

OSU offensive lineman Johnny Wilson

Johnny Wilson has never been into watching football. Thanksgiving was a day to relax and eat.

As he got older in Midland, Texas, morning football practices became a yearly tradition. It remains much of the same with the Cowboys now. An early workout followed by some grub.

Only this time it’s with his teammates.

Ry Schneider is known to get teammates together at his house or at his family’s home in Minco. Thursday, the meal is in Stillwater.

“We’re all going to hang out and have a little Thanksgiving just as players and family,” Wilson said.

OSU cornerback A.J. Green

A.J. Green doesn’t consider his childhood Thanksgiving experiences to be too much out of the realm of typical.

(Story continued below...)

Lots of food. Lots of football.

“I have a big family,” Oklahoma State’s senior cornerback said. “We’d all go out, me and my cousins, play throw up-tackle, things like that. Get a plate, eat, go play, go back and eat some more.”

If you’ve never heard of a game called throw up-tackle, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

“It’s every man for himself,” Green said. “We get a football, a guy runs with it. You tackle him, he throws up the ball somewhere, and everybody goes and tries to get it and run with it.”

OU co-offensive coordinator Cale Gundy

This year, Thanksgiving falls two days before Bedlam, but Cale and Mike Gundy will still get together with the rest of their family to celebrate the holiday. Just like they do every year.

College football will be a big topic of conversation — of course — but with one exception.

“Yeah but not OU or OSU,” Cale said. “Occasionally my dad will throw something in there to stoke it up.”

The unspoken rule of not discussing the upcoming rivalry comes mostly from their mother, Cale said.

“She doesn’t want to hear it,” Cale said. “She would honestly like to see both offenses score a whole lot of points and be like a 55-54 game.”

OU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch

Thanksgiving holds fond football memories for Alex Grinch.

“It was all football,” Grinch said.

Growing up, Grinch would watch about a quarter of football before he and his older brother were out in the backyard playing themselves. They were never big games — two on two, three on three, or even just the two brothers running routes.

Grinch and his brother liked to be in the action rather than just watch. They would throw on old helmets while they played to feel like they were part of the action.

His family goes to his grandma’s house in Oklahoma City every year to eat good food and watch the games, especially the Cowboys game. His favorite Thanksgiving food is by far macaroni and cheese, he said, and everyone who thinks it is not a Thanksgiving food is wrong.

While his family’s traditions are simple, Morris considers himself a big Thanksgiving guy.

“Some people forget about Thanksgiving and right after Halloween they try to skip to Christmas and forget all about that great food,” Morris said with a laugh. “Really if they do I don’t feel like they should deserve a big thanksgiving meal. That’s just me.”

OU linebacker DaShaun White

DaShuan White and his family don’t have any real Thanksgiving, besides eating “the best food ever” at his grandmother’s house.

He loves his grandmother’s sweet yams and sweet potato pie. White said his grandmother used to do all the cooking herself, but in recent years his family has started arriving early to help her. He doesn’t really do any of the cooking, but he does hang out in the kitchen.

“I think I’m more of the gnat,” White said. “The fly in the kitchen that just sort of keeps everyone happy. My mom and my grandma do all the work, but I’m just the provided smile.”

This year, White — a North Richland Hills, Texas, native — is staying local for Thanksgiving. He plans to go to his pastor’s house with some of his teammates. Last year was weird, but he said he thinks this year will be more smooth because he’s more comfortable with his teammates.

“It’s my second year,” White said. “I’m a lot closer to these guys. I’m a lot closer to the coaches and the coaches’ families… I think I can actually open myself up to it more this year than last year.”

A lifelong resident of the Oklahoma City metro area, Scott Wright has been on The Oklahoman staff since 2005, covering a little bit of everything on the state's sports scene. He has been a beat writer for football and basketball at Oklahoma and...
Read more ›

Jacob Unruh

Jacob Unruh is a graduate of Northeastern State University. He was born in Cherokee and raised near Vera where he attended Caney Valley High School.During his tenure at NSU, Unruh wrote for The Northeastern (NSU's student newspaper), the...
Read more ›

Abby Bitterman

Abby Bitterman covers OU athletics for The Oklahoman. She joined The Oklahoman in September 2019 to cover high school sports. A Chicago native, Abby graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May of 2019 with degrees in journalism and political...
Read more ›